22re timing cover gaskets using rtv ultra black on one or both sides of timing cover gaskets or none at all?

I had been researching into this issue of whether to put in rtv on one or both sides of 2 timing cover gaskets. See picture.


FSM did not indicate of any RTV (ultra black) on timing cover gaskets. Others wrote using a little bead RTV of 2mm or less on the timing cover without the gasket on and put on gasket and do it again on the other side of the gasket facing you. (let it dry about 20 minutes prior to putting on the timing cover to the front engine or putting the timing cover immediately on the front engine?)

I am awared of putting RTV on top corners of the timing cover that goes underneath the cylinder head between the head/timing chain gasket as well as on the bottom of the timing cover connecting to the oil pan.

What about using/putting RTV on water pump and oil pump area that does not have gasket? (see picture)

I don't want to screw it up by having found out later the oil leak and/or water pump leaking after putting the timing cover on the engine running.

Any thoughts on this issue?

 

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...gasket-295846/

 

I used R&W cooper gasket spray on the 2 timing chain cover gaskets & RTV for the water pump gasket. There is one bolt for the oil pump that also requires RTV. I think most here will tell you to put the 2 TC gaskets on dry but I never plan of pulling that cover off again so used the copper spray for peace of mind.

 

Pulled mine apart a couple years ago for timing chain and head gasket. I used Permatex High Tack for the timing cover and water pump gaskets...no leaks yet. Permatex Aviation #3 will work good too. I prefer High Tack because of the higher temperature rating.

Oil pump has a rubber seal. Just make sure it's seated correctly, and that it does not move when the oil pump is bolted down. Front seal will seal the timing cover.

 

I did my timing chain at 155,000 miles; about 33,000 miles ago. I was able to ease the old cover out without damaging the pan gasket or head gasket. I used Ultra Gray when I re-assembled every thing. Just be careful you don't use too much and get some little rubber things floating around inside your engine. The way I see it on "gasket sealers" is that they would not be necessary provided the mating surfaces are flat, smooth, clean and undamaged...no scratches, grooves, gouges,cracks, heavy corrosion, etc. If you think about the volume of "sealer" remaining after good fitting parts are reassembled and the excess is "squished out"... not very much. The rest gets wiped off, or if its inside, maybe eventually breaks loose and contaminates your engine oil. My $0.02

 

The previous post has a good point, technics are paramount.. A little goes a long way.

If you have an OEM or good quality gasket, speaking of say the lower intake for example, you'll find a "rubber" band around the water jacket ports which is very small.

We've "all" seen the posts of images of oil pickup tubes plugged up with RTV silicone?

My personal preference with less than excellent gaskets, paper (impregnated?) is to rubberize them with a thin film of RTV on all surfaces. This is similar to old school shellacked gasket processes, where you form a thin film over the full 3D profile making it impermeable.

It's very important to allow the rtv to cure before your final torque sequence, meaning you apply the gasket goop and place the part with a gap for the silicone to set in before tightening the bolts. If you fail the patience test what you wind up with is the paper gasket having to be scrapped off both sides of the mating surfaces.

A good flat surface and a decent gasket will seal fine with out rtv. If your cover isn't perfectly flat what you will notice is once it has been torqued down and heat cycles is there is a "protrusion" under the fasteners. This protruding surface interferes with a less than excellent gaskets ability to seal. This is why thicker gasket material is preferred over "paper thin" gaskets....

...
You can use rtv on anything, almost, just be aware of if it's not done well you've created a fault that wasn't there to begin with over just using the gasket as supplied.

 

I won't use RTV unless it's absolutely necessary.

When I tore down my truck a couple years ago, the previous owner had used orange RTV on the water pump. Pulled the head off, and found a water jacket that was mostly clogged with the orange goop. Had to flush radiator multiple times to get most of it out of the radiator. I flushed it when it was out of the truck.

I used good quality gaskets that were made in Japan except for the lower intake gasket. I went with the Fel-Pro lower intake gasket because it had the rubber sealing beads, and I installed that dry.

Dread doing the oil pan that needs to be done because it does have a small leak, but no puddles yet. It seals with RTV only no gasket.

 

You don't need to use RTV on the top of the timing cover if your head gasket has the rubber sealing bead that seals that area. The Toyota head gasket does have the rubber sealing bead.

 

Discombobulated, Paul22RE, snippits, JJ'89, Co_94_PU, Thanks for all your comments/feedback/advice. I appreciated it. Right now, I had to order a new timing cover due to 2 stripped thread holes inside the timing cover itself, one on the water pump, the other is the oil pump. The bolts themselves are fine. Got to be careful when tightening bolts to foot lbs. I tried to use helicoils only to make it worse. Will follow up on this. Thanks to all for reading.

 

You need a smaller torque wrench for some of this stuff, look for a 1/4 inch drive one that measures in inch pounds. Iirc it's about 7-9 ft/lb which converts to about 100 inch pounds.

Torque wrenches have a sweet spot near the middle, at the extreme top/bottom 10-15% they aren't typically as accurate.

 

Absolutely. I use my (lower torque range) 1/4" drive on my bicycles, too, but it is worth having it just for all the smaller bolts on the truck.

The torque spec for a 22re valve cover bolt is 52 in-lb. For a 3VZE it's only 48 in-lb. On the 3VZE at least, it's a steel bolt into an aluminum head. If you try to tighten them "by hand," it would be easy to get it up to 7-9 ft-lbs (84-108 in-lbs), which is easily enough to strip the threads out of the head. Then what would you do?